Method and program for monitoring execution state of program

ABSTRACT

Item values associated with an execution state of a program executed on a computer are collected in detail while suppressing the computer load. When reducing the interval for collecting values of one item to be monitored, the interval for collecting values of items other than that item is increased. If the computer load is increased, an interval of at least one item is increased. Moreover, there is provided an upper limit for the number of items whose intervals can be reduced simultaneously. Moreover, when varying the interval of the item according to the values of the respective items, the interval variation range is varied according to the item state and the computer load.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a technique for monitoring executionstate of a program executed on a computer.

JP-A-2001-325126 discloses a method for monitoring a computer systemhaving a computer or the like by collecting values of items associatedwith the execution state of a program executed on the computer at apredetermined time interval, wherein according to the use frequency orload of the computer, the computer monitoring interval is reduced or thenumber of items (monitoring items) to be monitored is added oralternatively, the computer monitoring interval is increased or themonitoring item is deleted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

When monitoring the execution state of a program executed on a computerand use state of the hardware resources of the computer, it ispreferable to collect values of items associated with the executionstate of the program to be monitored at a short time interval so as toobtain detail information on the object to be monitored. On the otherhand, in order to obtain values of items associated with the programexecution state, it is necessary to execute a monitoring program on thecomputer and collection of items to be monitored at a short timeinterval increases the load on the computer. It is necessary to collectdetail information on the object to be monitored while suppressing theload on the computer. This is not described in the prior art.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide atechnique for obtaining detail information on an object to be monitoredwhile controlling the collection time interval of each item so as tosuppress the computer load.

In order to achieve the aforementioned object, the present inventionsuggests the following means. That is, when a collection time intervalof a certain item is decreased, the collection time intervals of theother items are increased. Moreover, when the load on a computer hasbecome high, a collection time interval of a certain item is increased.Simultaneously with this, there is provided an upper limit for thenumber of items whose collection time interval can be decreased.Moreover, when a time interval of an item is varied according to theitem value, the interval varying range is varied according to the itemstate and the computer load.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the embodiments of theinvention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows configuration of computers connected in such a manner thatthey can communicate with one another according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 shows a table associated with the collection time interval.

FIG. 3 shows a table associated with item states.

FIG. 4 shows a table associated with the computer load.

FIG. 5 shows a table associated with derivative group.

FIG. 6 shows a table associated with abnormal items.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing operation of a monitoring item acquisitionprogram.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a first operation of a collection timeinterval management program.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a second operation of a collection timeinterval management program.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a third operation of a collection timeinterval management program.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a fourth operation of a collection timeinterval management program.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a first operation of a collection timeinterval modification program.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a second operation of a collection timeinterval modification program.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a third operation of a collection timeinterval modification program.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing operation of a computer load monitoringprogram.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing operation of a monitoring itemacquisition program.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing operation of a collection time intervalmodification program.

FIG. 18 is flowchart showing operation of an item value acquisitionprogram.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing operation of a collection time intervalmanagement program.

FIG. 20 is table having information on detail collection time of eachderivative group.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Description will now be directed to embodiments of the present inventionwith reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 shows configuration of a system including computers connected insuch a manner that they can communicate with one another according to anembodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a plurality of computers(100, 130, 140) are connected via a network.

Here, explanation will be given on the configuration of the computer 1(100) as an example of the computers used in this embodiment. Thecomputer 100 includes a storage unit 110 containing programs and dataand a processing unit 120 such as a CPU for executing the programsstored in the storage unit. The storage unit 110 contains a program 1110(such as an application program and OS) to be monitored, a monitoringitem acquisition program 1111 for monitoring the respective programs,and a collection interval modification program 1112 for modifying thecollection interval as a timing for acquiring the value of the item bythe monitoring item acquisition program.

Moreover, the storage unit contains an item information table 1210 whereinformation on the items to be monitored is registered and a collectioninterval table 1220 where information on collection intervals of therespective items is registered. Moreover, the storage unit contains aderivative group definition table 1240 where groups each consisting ofsome items are correlated and registered.

A group consisting of at least one item is a derivative group of oneitem. This means in the derivative group definition table 1240, that thegroup is registered with linking to the item. Each derivative group mayconsist of items associated with the same one program or associated withmore than one different programs. Moreover, each derivative group mayconsist of items associated with a program which is executed on morethan one different computers. It should be noted that in the derivativegroup definition table 1240, names indicating the respective derivativegroups are registered in a field 520 in FIG. 5.

In the embodiment explained below, when a value of a certain item isjudged to be abnormal, the interval of items belonging to the derivativegroup of this item is reduced. When a value of an item (αi) is judged tobe abnormal and the collection interval αl of the derivative group ({β1,β2 . . . , βn}) defined for the αi is reduced, the item αi will becalled an abnormal item for each item belonging to the derivative group.That is, if the item α is an abnormal item of the item β, the item βbelongs to the derivative group of α and when the value of the item αbecomes abnormal, the interval of each item belonging to the derivativegroup to which the item β belongs is reduced.

An abnormal item table 1250 is a table in which items belonging to aderivative group and their abnormal items are correlated and theabnormal items for the respective items are modified as needed by acollection interval management program 1260 or the like. Furthermore,the collection interval management program 1260 is stored. The programoperates as follows. When the value of a certain item has becomeabnormal, the derivative group of the item is extracted from thederivative group definition table 1240 and notification to reduce theinterval of each item extracted is issued to a collection intervalmodification program 1112. Furthermore, a computer load monitoringprogram 1270 for collecting values of items associated with a computerload such as the CPU use ratio and disc capacity and a computer loadinformation table 1280 having information on the state of items relatedon the computer load are stored.

The computer 2 (130) and the computer 3 (140) have the sameconfiguration as the computer 1 (100). In the embodiment below,explanation is given on a system including three computers. However, thepresent invention is not limited to this configuration. That is, thesystem may include only one computer or more than one computersconnected in such a manner that they are communicate with one another.Moreover, when monitoring a system including more than one computers,each computer may not have the collection interval management program.That is, only one computer among the computers constituting the systemcan have the collection interval management program 1260. Moreover, itis also possible to execute the collection interval management program1260 in the computer where no program to be monitored is executed.

Hereinafter, explanation will be given on details of the respectivetables and the operation of the programs. FIG. 2 shows the collectioninterval table 1220. This table has information on the collectioninterval which is an interval for collecting values of items by themonitoring item acquisition program 1111 for each item. For an item name200, item names to be monitored are registered. As an item, for example,there is an access frequency 201 of an application program (referred toas the AP1) indicating the frequency of the access to the databasemanagement system by the AP1. Moreover, the item associated withcomputer load (such as CPU use state, memory use state) can also beregistered as a monitoring object item. The items to be monitored areset by a user.

The collection interval 210 is an interval for collecting a value ofeach item. For example, FIG. 2 shows that the value of the item which isthe AP1 access frequency is collected every 30 seconds. These intervalsare set in advance by a user before starting collection of the items andmodified as needed according to the state of the item to be monitored,by the collection interval modification program 1112. In the embodimentbelow, the value set as the collection interval 210 of each item inadvance by the user will be referred to as an “initial value”.

Moreover, in the initial value 220 of FIG. 2, it is assumed that a valueidentical to the value set by the user as the initial value of thecollection interval 210 is registered. When modifying the interval ofeach item, the possible maximum value and the possible minimum value ofthe interval are set by the user as the maximum value 260 and theminimum value 250.

In the collection state 230, one of the states “normal state”,“degeneration state”, “detail state” and “temporary stop state” isregistered for each item. These are used when modifying the collectioninterval 210 and are modified as needed according to the item state andthe collection interval 210 by the collection interval modificationprogram 1112. When the collection state of an item is “normal state”,the interval 210 of the item is equal to the initial value 220 set forthis item. Moreover, when the collection state of an item is the “detailstate”, the interval 210 is smaller than the initial value 220. The“degeneration state” means that the interval 210 is greater than theinitial state 220. Moreover, the “temporary stop state” means a statethat the collection interval 210 is not modified by the collectioninterval modification program 1112. A fluctuation reference value 240 isa value serving as a reference to reduce or increase the interval whenmodifying the interval of an item according to the fluctuation ratio ofthe item. The fluctuation reference value 240 is set by a user.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the item information table 1210. This is usedwhen modifying the collection interval and consists of conditions formodifying or not modifying the collection interval of each item. In theitem name, like in FIG. 2, the item name to be monitored is registeredby the user in advance. “In a “normal state definition” (310), acondition for the value of each item is registered. The item state is“normal” if the value of each item satisfies the condition. For example,in the item of access frequency 301 of the AP1, 20/s or below (311),i.e., the state that access request made for one second is 20 times orbelow is registered as a normal state. In the normal state definition310, each item is set by the user.

In the item state 320, a normal state or an abnormal state is set. Ifthe value of the item collected satisfies the condition of the normalstate registered for this item, “normal” is registered. Otherwise,“abnormal” is registered. The item state 320 is modified as neededaccording to the state of each item by the collection intervalmodification program 1112 or the like. A previous acquisition item value330 is the latest value in the items collected previously for each itemand is updated as needed by the monitoring item acquisition program1111.

FIG. 4 is a computer load information table 1280 where the state of theitem 400 associated with the computer load is registered. The itemregistered here is monitored by the computer load monitoring program1270. This table used according to the computer load when modifying thecollection interval of the item to be monitored and registered in FIG.2. In FIG. 4, in the item name 400, items associated with the computerload are registered. The items registered in the item name 400 may bepartially or entirely overlap with the items associated with thecomputer load among the items registered in the item information tableof FIG. 2. A normal state definition 410, like in FIG. 3, contains thecondition of the value of each item. The “normal” state is set if thecondition is satisfied. An item state, like in FIG. 3, indicates whethercurrently normal or abnormal. Moreover, the interval, for collecting thevalue of each item is registered in the collection interval 430. Aprevious acquisition item value 440 is the latest value among the valuescollected prior to the presence.

FIG. 5 is a derivative group definition table 1240. Here, a group(derivative group) 510 consisting of at least one item is related toeach item 500 and registered. The derivative group for each item is settogether with the group name 520 by the user. It should be noted thatthe derivative group defined for each item may be an item associatedwith only one program executed on the same computer as each item or anitem associated with more than one programs executed on the samecomputer. Moreover, it may consist of an item associated with a programexecuted on more than one different computers. When there is aderivative group consisting of an item associated with a programexecuted on different computers, it is possible to register in thederivative group definition table 1240 information indicating on whichcomputer a program associated with the item belonging to each derivativegroup is executed.

FIG. 6 is an abnormal item table 1250. In a derivative item 600, itemsregistered in the derivative group 510 of FIG. 5 are registered. This isset in advance by the user. In an abnormal item 610, abnormal items ofthe respective derivative items are registered. For example, the accessfrequency 601 of AP2 is an item belonging to a derivative group of item:AP1 wait time (611). Since the AP1 wait time (611) is in the abnormalstate and the collection interval is reduced, as the abnormal item ofthe access frequency of AP2, the AP1 wait time is registered. Theabnormal items of the respective derivative items are updated as neededaccording to the item state by the collection interval managementprogram 1260.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing operation of the monitoring itemacquisition program 1111 according to the embodiment of the presentinvention. The monitoring item acquisition program selects one (α1) ofthe items registered in the item name 200 of the collection intervaltable 1220 (FIG. 2). As a method for selecting the item, for example,the items registered in the item name 200 may be successively selectedfrom the top but the method is not limited to this. In step 700, it isjudged whether a predetermined collection interval of the item haselapsed after the value of the item for the item α1 has been acquiredpreviously. If the time has elapsed, the value of the item α1 isacquired (701). Next, it is judged whether the value of the acquireditem satisfies the “normal” condition decided for the item byreferencing the normal state definition 310 of the item informationtable 1210 (FIG. 3) (702). If the result is “abnormal”, it is judgedwhether the collection state is “detail” by referencing the collectionstate 230 of the collection interval table 1220 (FIG. 2) for the itemα1.

If the collection state is other than the “detail”, it is judged whetherthe collection state of the item α1 is “temporary stop” (705). As willbe detail later, when the computer load has become large, reduction ofthe collection interval of the monitoring object item is temporarilystopped so as to prevent further increase of the load. Accordingly, whendeciding whether to reduce the collection interval, it is necessary tojudge whether the collection state is “temporary stop”. If thecollection state is judged to be other than the “temporary stop”,notification 1 is issued to the collection interval management program1260 (707). The notification 1 is used to reduce the collection intervalof the item belonging to the derivative group of item α1. As has beendescribed above, the collection interval management program 1260 towhich the notification is issued may be the same computer as thecomputer where the monitoring item acquisition program 1111 which hasacquired the value is executed or may be a different computer.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing operation of the collection intervalmanagement program 1260. The collection interval management programreceives the notification 1 (800) and references the collection state230 of the collection interval table 1220 (FIG. 2) so as to judgewhether there is an item in the “detail collection” state (801). Ifthere exists an item in the “detail collection” state, the processing isterminated (806). This means that there is already an item other than α1whose collection interval has been reduced due to an abnormal state andthe collection interval of the item α1 is not reduced. Thus, it ispossible to suppress increase of the computer load caused bysimultaneous reduction of the collection intervals of a plenty of items.

In step 801, if there is no item in the “detail” state, an itembelonging to the group is extracted from a group corresponding to theitem α1 of the derivative group table (FIG. 5) (802). For the respectiveitems extracted, notification 4 instructing reduction of the collectioninterval is issued to each collection interval modification program 1112modifying the collection interval of each item (803). The collectioninterval modification program 1112 to which the notification is issuedmay be executed on the same computer as the collection intervalmanagement program 1260 or may be executed on a different computer ormay be executed both on the same computer and the different computer.

Next, items not belonging to the derivative group associated with theitem α1 are extracted (804) and notification 5 instructing to increasethe collection interval of the respective items extracted is issued tothe collection interval modification program 1112 having the function tomodify the collection interval of each item (805). Thus, the increase ofcomputer load by the reduction of the collection interval of some itemsin step 803 can be suppressed by increasing the collection interval ofthe other items. Here, the items whose collection interval is increasedis selected from those not belonging to the derivative group associatedwith the item α1 and accordingly, it is possible to collect detailinformation on the derivative group associated with the item α1.

It should be noted that in step 804, when selecting an item whosecollection interval is to be increased, the number of items to beselected may be set appropriately depending on the value of the itemassociated with the computer load and the number of items belonging tothe group whose collection interval has been reduced. For example, themore items become objects of the instruction of the interval reduction,the collection intervals of more items may be increased. However, thepresent invention is not limited to this method. Moreover, as a methodfor selecting the item whose collection interval is to be increased, forexample, among the items registered in FIG. 2, it is possible to selectitems not belonging to the derivative group whose collection interval isto be reduced in the order of registration in the table. However, thepresent invention is not limited to this method.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing operation of the collection intervalmodification program 1112 which has received the notification 4. Uponreception of the notification 4 (step 1200 in FIG. 12), the currentinterval of the collection interval table 1220 (the collection interval210 of FIG. 2) is referenced and this value divided by 2 is X which isstored (1201). Next, the X is stored as a new collection interval in theinterval 210 (1202). Furthermore, “detail” is stored in the column 230of the collection state (1203). Lastly, in the abnormal item table 1250of FIG. 6, the item α1 is registered in the column of “abnormal item”corresponding to the item whose interval has been reduced (1204) and theprocessing is terminated (1205). It should be noted that in step 1201,an arbitrary positive number may be used instead of the numeric 2 usedfor calculating the new collection interval X.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing operation of the collection intervalmodification program 1112 which has received notification 5. Uponreception of the notification 5 (1300), the current collection intervalmultiplied by 2 is made Y which is stored (1301) and the Y is registeredas a new collection interval (1302). Next, in step 1303, the collectionstate of the item whose interval has been increased is set to“degeneration” (1303) and the processing is terminated (1304). Insteadof the numeric 2 used in step 1301, it is possible to use anotherpositive number.

When the collection state is judged to be “detail” in step 704 of FIG.7, it is judged whether the item α1 itself is registered as an abnormalitem of the item α1 in the abnormal item table 1250 (FIG. 6). If theitem α1 itself is registered as an abnormal item, notification 2 isissued to the collection interval management program (708). Thisnotification means that since the collection interval of the derivativegroup decided for the item α1 is reduced and the item α1 is in anabnormal state, the collection interval of the derivative group decidedfor the item α1 is to be further reduced. Thus, it is possible tocollect more detail information on the derivative group decided for theitem α1. Moreover, in step 706, if the item α1 is not registered as anabnormal item, the processing is terminated. This means that since thecollection interval for the derivative group decided for the item α1 isnot reduced and the collection interval for a derivative group foranother item containing the item α1 is already reduced, the processingis terminated without modifying the collection interval of thederivative group for the item α1.

The collection interval management program 1260 which has received thenotification 2 operates in the same way as the collection intervalmanagement program which has received the notification 1 which has beenexplained with reference to FIG. 8.

In step 702 of FIG. 7, if the value of the acquired item is “normal”,the collection interval table (FIG. 2) is referenced and it is judgedwhether the collection state of the item α1 is “detail” (703). If thecollection state of the item α1 is judged to be “detail”, the abnormalitem table 1250 (FIG. 6) is referenced and it is judged whether the itemα1 has derivation (710). Here, an item having derivation means that inthe abnormal item table 1250, an item other than that item is registeredas an abnormal item of that item. If no derivation is present,notification 3 is issued to the collection interval management program1260 (711). This means that since the item α1 is in a normal state andhas no derivation, the collection interval of the derivative group forthe item α1 is recovered to the initial value.

In step 703, if the collection state of the item α1 is judged to beother than “detail”, the collection interval table 1220 (FIG. 2) isreferenced and it is judged whether the collection state of the item α1is “temporary stop” (709). If the collection state is “temporary stop”,it is judged whether derivation is present (710). If there is noderivation, the notification 3 is issued to the collection intervalmanagement program 1260 (711). This also recovers the collectioninterval of the derivative group for the item α1 to the initial value.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart indicating operation of the collection intervalmanagement program 1260 which has received the notification 3. Thecollection interval management program receives the notification 3 (900)and references the derivative group definition table 1240 (FIG. 5) so asto extract an item belonging to the derivative group of the item α1(901). Next, notification 9 is issued to instruct to recover thecollection intervals of the respective items extracted to the initialvalues (902).

Furthermore, notification 10 is issued to instruct to reference thecollection interval table 1220 (FIG. 2) so as to extract items in thedegeneration state and recover the collection intervals of the itemsextracted to the normal intervals (903) and the processing is terminated(904). In step 902, the collection intervals of the items whosecollection intervals have been reduced due to the abnormality of theitem α1 are recovered to the initial values. In step 903, the collectionintervals of the items whose collection intervals have been increased tosuppress increase of the computer load due to the reduction of thecollection interval of the derivative group for the item α1 arerecovered to the initial values.

The collection interval modification program 1112 receives thenotification 9 (step 1400 in FIG. 14) and registers the value registeredas an “initial value” of the collection interval table 1220 in thecolumn “interval” of the table (1401). Furthermore, the collection state(230) is set to “normal” (1402) and the processing is terminated (1403).The operation performed when notification 10 is received is identical tothis.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart indicating operation of a computer loadmonitoring program 1270 according to the embodiment of the presentinvention. The computer load monitoring program selects one of the itemsregistered on the computer load information table 1280 (FIG. 4). Themethod for selection may be, for example, sequential selection in theorder of registrations in the table but the method is not to be limitedto this. In step 1500, it is judged whether the collection interval(field 430 of FIG. 4) registered for the item associated with thecomputer load to be monitored has elapsed from the moment when the valuehas been acquired previously (1500).

If the collection interval has elapsed, the value of the item isacquired (1501) and the abnormal state definition 410 of the computerload information table 1280 is reference to judge whether the valueacquired is normal (1502).

If the value is not normal, notification 11 is issued to the collectioninterval management program 1260 (1503).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing operation of the collection intervalmanagement program 1260 which has received the notification 11. Uponreception of the notification 11 (1000), the collection state for eachitem whose collection state 230 is “detail” in the collection intervaltable 1220 is modified to “temporary stop” (1001). Next, notification 13instructing to increase the collection interval for the items in theregenerate state or normal state is issued to the collection intervalmodification program 1112 (1002) and the processing is terminated(1003).

The notification 11 is issued because the value of the item concerningthe computer load has become abnormal. Now, the collection interval forthe items in the detail collection state may be further reduced tofurther increase the computer load. According to the present embodimentwhich is realized by the notification 11 and the operation of thecollection interval management program 1260 which has received thenotification 11, the collection state of items in the detail collectionstate is modified to the temporary stop state so as to temporarily stopthe reduction of the collection interval, thereby preventing furtherincrease of the computer load. Here, the collection interval of theitems which has been modified to the temporary stop is maintained to thevalue before the modification of the collection state and accordingly,it is possible to collect information detail as before the modificationof the collection state. Moreover, when the interval of the item in thedetail collection state is modified to the temporary stop state, thecollection interval of the item in the regenerate state or the normalstate is increased, so as to reduce the computer load.

It should be noted that in this invention, as the operation of thecollection interval management program 1260 which has received thenotification 11 (FIG. 10), it is possible only to issue a notificationto increase the collection interval of the item in the normal ordegeneration state (1002).

In step 1502 of FIG. 15, if the value of the item is judged to benormal, then it is judged whether the previously acquired item value 440of the computer load information table 1280 (FIG. 4) is normal or not.If the value is judged to be abnormal, and if the states of all theother items registered in the computer load information table 1280 arenormal, then notification 12 is issued to the collection intervalmanagement program 1260 (1505).

The collection interval management program 1260 receives thenotification 12 (step 1100 in FIG. 11), modifies the collection state ofthe item whose collection state 230 is “temporary stop” in thecollection interval table 1220 (FIG. 2) to the “detail” (1101), andterminates the processing (1102). According to the present embodimentdescribed through the notification 12 and the operation for this, forthe item whose collection interval has been stopped to be reducedbecause the item of the computer load was abnormal, the reduction of thecollection interval is resumed when the item of the computer load isrecovered to the normal state, thereby enabling detail informationcollection.

The first embodiment of the present invention has thus far beendescribed.

Description will now be directed to a second embodiment of the presentinvention. In the aforementioned embodiment, there is only onederivative group performing detail collection at a certain time point.On the other hand, in the second embodiment, explanation will be givenon a case when detail collection is performed simultaneously for two ormore derivative groups. In this embodiment, for example, it is assumedthat when a certain item αi is abnormal and the collection interval ofthe items belonging to the derivative group associated with the item αiis reduced, the value of an item αk other than the αi is abnormal.

The present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 18, FIG.19, and FIG. 20. FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 are flowcharts showing theoperation of the monitoring item acquisition program 1111 and theoperation of the collection interval management program 1260,respectively. Moreover, FIG. 20 is a detail collection time table 1230.This is used in the embodiment described below for judging the timeduring which each derivative group is detail-collected when derivativegroups of a plurality of items have become abnormal and detailcollection is performed alternately. In the derivative group 2100,derivative group names 520 registered in the derivative group definitiontable 1240 (FIG. 5) are registered. The detail collection time 2200contains a time which has elapsed up to now from the moment when thedetail collection has been started if each item belonging to thederivative group is currently in the detail collection state.

In this embodiment, when an item has become abnormal, if a derivativegroup has already been in the detail collection state for apredetermined period of time, the derivative group of the new item whichhas become abnormal is detail-collected and the aforementionedderivative group already in the detail collection state is modified tothe normal collection. Here, the reference to decide whether to modifythe derivative group already in the detail collection state to thenormal state is registered as a reference time 2300. It should be notedthat in the explanation of this embodiment, those portions differentfrom the first embodiment will be explained in detail.

In FIG. 18, if a collection interval decided for a certain item (αi) haselapsed from the moment when the value of αi was acquired previously(1800), the value of the item αi is acquired (1801). In step 1802, it isjudged whether the acquired value is normal. If the value is normal, theprograms operate in the same way as has been explained above.

In step 1802, if the value of the acquired item is judged to beabnormal, control is passed to step 1804 where the collection state ofthe item αi is judged to be whether temporary stop or not by referencingthe item information table 1210 (FIG. 2). If the collection state isjudged to be temporary stop state, the processing is terminated. If thecollection state is judged to be other than the temporary stop, theupper limit (u) of the number of new items which can currently bedetail-collected is compared to the number of items belonging to thederivative group associated with the item αi so as to judge whether thenumber of items exceeds the upper limit u. Furthermore, the computerload information table 1280 (FIG. 4) is referenced to judge whether anyitems associated with the computer load is in the “abnormal” state(1805). Here, as the initial value of the value u, a user sets a valueunder which collection intervals of all the items to be monitored areinitial values.

After the monitoring is started, the value of initial value deleted bythe number of items in the detail collection state at each time momentis registered as the u value at the moment. If the number of itemsbelonging to the derivative group associated with the item αi does notexceed the u and the state of all the items associated with the computerload are all “normal”, then in step 1806, notification 2 is issued tothe collection interval management program 1260. The notification 2 isto reduce the collection interval of the items belonging to thederivative group associated with the item αi. Operation (FIG. 8) of thecollection interval management program 1260 and operation of thecollection interval modification program 1112 which have received thenotification 2 are identical to the operations explained in the firstembodiment.

In step 1805, if the number of items belonging to the derivative groupassociated with the item αi exceeds the u or at least one of the itemsassociated with the computer load is “abnormal”, control is passed tostep 1807 where notification 18 is issued to the collection intervalmanagement program. This means that the value of the item αi is abnormalbut if the collection intervals of the items belonging to the derivativegroup associated with the item αi are reduced, there is a danger offurther deteriorating the computer load which is currently abnormal.Accordingly, the processing shown below will be performed.

By referencing to FIG. 19, explanation will be given on the operation ofthe collection interval management program 1260 which has received thenotification 18. In step 1901, the detail collection time table 1230(FIG. 20) is referenced to extract the derivative group (G1, G2, . . . ,Gk) currently in the detail collection state. It should be noted that “aderivative group is in the detail collection state” means that each ofthe items belonging to the group is in the detail collection state (thesame meaning is used in the other portion of this Detail Description).

Next, in step 1902, for each of the extracted groups, it is judgedwhether the time which has elapsed after the group has entered thedetail collection state (field 2200 of FIG. 20) is greater than thereference time (field 2300 of FIG. 20) predetermined for the group. Instep 1902, if there is no group whose detail collection state time haselapsed more than the reference time, the processing is terminated.

If there are any groups whose detail collection state time has elapsedmore than the reference time, one group (G1) is extracted from thegroups by an appropriate method (for example, the group whose detailcollection state time has elapsed more than any other groups). Next, instep 1903, notification 9 is issued to instruct modification of thecollection interval for each of items belonging to the extracted groupsto the initial values predetermined for the respective items. Theoperation of the collection interval modification program 1112 which hasreceived the notification 9 is identical to the one explained in theaforementioned first embodiment.

Furthermore, in step 1904, items belonging to the derivative grouprelated the item αi which has shown abnormality are extracted byreferencing the derivative group definition table 1240 (FIG. 5). Next,in step 1905, notification 4 is issued to instruct reduction of thecollection interval of each of the items extracted in step 1904. Theoperation (FIG. 12) of the collection interval modification programwhich has received the notification 4 is identical to the one explainedin the first embodiment. As has been explained above, even if aplurality of items simultaneously become abnormal, values of itemsbelonging to the respective derivative groups associated with therespective items which have become abnormal can be collected in detailwhile suppressing the computer load.

Description will now be directed to a third embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, for each of the items, the collectioninterval is varied for the item according to the value of the item. Themethod used below is as follows. When the absolute value of thevariation ratio of the values currently acquired for the respectiveitems and the values acquired previously is equal to or above apredetermined reference value, the collection interval of the item isreduced and when the variation ratio is smaller than the predeterminedreference value, the collection interval is increased. However, thepresent invention is not limited to this method. It should be noted thatexplanation of the third embodiment will be given with reference to FIG.2 to FIG. 17.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing operation of the monitoring itemacquisition program 1111 according to the third embodiment. In step1600, it is judged whether the collection interval of an item (α2) haselapsed after the value of the item was acquired previously. If the timehas elapsed, the value of the item α2 is acquired (1601). Next, it isjudged whether the value of the acquired item satisfies the condition of“normality” predetermined for the item by referencing the normal statedefinition 310 in the item information table 1210 (FIG. 3) (1602). Ifthe item value is judged to be “abnormal”, then it is judged whether thecollection state of the item α2 is “detail” by referencing thecollection state 230 of the collection interval table 1220 (FIG. 2)(1604).

If the collection state is other than the “detail”, it is judged whetherthe collection state of the item α2 is “temporary stop” (1605). If thecollection state is judged to be other than the “temporary stop”, thenotification 1 is issued to the collection interval management program1260 (1607). The notification 1 is used to reduce the collectioninterval of the derivative group associated with the item α2. Theoperation (FIG. 8) of the collection interval management program 1260which has received the notification 1 and the operation of thecollection interval modification program 1112 which has received thenotification of instruction of the collection interval managementprogram are identical to the ones explained in the first embodiment. Itshould be noted that as a new collection interval candidate X in step1201 of FIG. 12, a value not smaller than the “minimum value” determinedin FIG. 2 for the items whose collection intervals are to be reduced isselected. Moreover, as Y in step 1301 of FIG. 13, a value not greaterthan the “maximum value” determined in FIG. 2 for the items whosecollection intervals are to be increased is selected.

In step 1604 of FIG. 16, if the collection state is judged to be“detail”, then notification 15 is issued to the collection intervalmodification program 1112.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing operation of the collection intervalmodification program 1112 which has received the notification 15. Uponreception of the notification 15 (1700), by referencing the collectioninterval table 1220 (FIG. 2), the minimum value (MIN) and the maximumvalue (MAX) of the variation width of the collection interval areextracted for use when modifying the collection interval according tothe absolute value of the variation ratio (1701). That is, since theitem α2 is in the detail collection state, the “minimum value”registered as MIN in the minimum value 250 is used and the “initialvalue” of the field 220 is used as MAX. It should be noted that as willbe detail later, when modifying the collection interval according to thevariation ratio for the item whose collection state is in“degeneration”, the “initial value” of the field 220 is used as MIN andthe “maximum value” of the field 260 is used as MAX.

Thus, in this embodiment, according to the collection state, thecollection interval variation width MAX and MIN are changed. This canhave the following effects. That is, in this embodiment, the collectioninterval is varied according to the absolute value of the valuevariation ratio for each item. Accordingly, even if the item is in thedetail state, i.e., the collection interval for it has been reduced fromthe initial value, the collection interval is increased if the absolutevalue of the value variation ratio is smaller than the variationreference value. On the other hand, for the item in the degenerationstate, i.e., the collection interval has been increased greater than theinitial value to suppress the computer load, the collection interval isreduced if the absolute value of the value variation ratio is greaterthan the variation reference value.

Accordingly, there is a possibility that unless the upper limit valueand the lower limit value of the variation width of the collectioninterval are changed according to the collection state, the collectioninterval is increased to an extent of the degeneration state even whenthe detail collection state is set in and detail information collectioncannot be performed. Moreover, there is a possibility that even when thedegeneration collection state is set in, the collection interval isreduced to an extend of the detail collection state and the computerload cannot be suppressed.

To cope with this problem, in this invention, for one and the same item,the upper limit and the lower limit of the variation width of thecollection interval are changed according to the collection state.Accordingly, even when changing the collection interval according to theabsolute value of the variation ratio of the item value, it is possibleto suppress the computer load and reduce the collection interval of theitem whose detail information is desired.

Next, by using the previously acquired item value 330 of the iteminformation table 1210 (FIG. 3), the absolute value of the variationratio of the latest item value of the item α2 and the previouslyacquired item value (variation ratio of the latest value with respect tothe previously acquired value) is calculated and the calculation resultis stored as A (1702). Next, the variation reference value of thecollection interval table (field 240 in FIG. 2) is extracted (as P) andjudgment is made whether A is smaller than P (1703).

If A is equal to or greater than P, the current collection intervalregistered in the field 210 of the collection interval table 1220 (FIG.2) is divided by 2 to obtain a value which is stored as X (1704). Next,judgement is made whether X is greater than MIN (1705). If X is judgedto be greater than MIN, X is registered as a new collection interval inthe field 210 (1706). If X is judged to be equal to or smaller than MIN,the processing is terminated as it is (1707). Thus, when the item valuevariation ratio is greater than a predetermined reference value, thecollection interval is reduced in a value range greater than MIN.

It should be noted that instead of the numeric 2 used in step 1704, itis possible to use other positive number. Moreover, in this embodiment,if X is judged to be greater than MIN in step 1705, the collectioninterval is modified to X (1706). Instead of this, it is also possibleto modify the collection interval to X if the X is judged to be equal toor greater than MIN.

In step 1703, if the absolute value A of the variation ratio is smallerthan the variation reference value P, the current collection interval ismultiplied by 2 to obtain a value which is stored as Y (1708). Judgementis made whether the Y is smaller than MAX (1709). If the Y is judged tobe smaller than MAX, the Y is registered as a new collection interval(1710). If Y is equal to or greater than MAX, the processing isterminated as it is (1711).

Thus, when the absolute value of the variation ratio is smaller than thereference value, the collection interval is increased in a value rangesmaller than MAX. The numeric 2 used in step 1708 may be replaced byother positive number. Moreover, in this embodiment, the collectioninterval is modified to Y if Y is judged to be smaller than MAX in step1709 (1710). However, it is also possible to modify the collectioninterval to Y if Y is judged to be equal to or smaller than MAX.Moreover, in this embodiment, if A is smaller than P in step 1703,control is passed to step 1708 and if A is equal to or greater than P,control is passed to step 1704. However, it is also possible to passcontrol to step 1708 if A is equal to or smaller than P and to step 1704if A is greater than P.

In step 1602 of FIG. 16, if the value of the acquired item is “normal”,the collection interval table 1220 (FIG. 2) is referenced and judgmentis made whether the collection state of the item α2 is “detail” (1603).If the collection state is judged to be “detail”, the abnormal itemtable 1250 (FIG. 6) is referenced to judge whether the item α2 hasderivation (1609). If no derivation is present (as an abnormal item ofthe item α2, no item other than the item α2 itself is registered),notification 16 is issued to the collection interval management program1260 (1611). This means that the item α2 is in the normal state and hasno derivation. Accordingly, the collection interval of the derivativegroup associated with the item α2 is recovered to the initial value. Theoperation of the collection interval management program 1260 which hasreceived the notification 16 is identical to the one shown in FIG. 9referenced in the explanation of the first embodiment. The operation ofthe collection interval modification program 1112 performed in responseto the notification of instruction of the collection interval managementprogram is also identical to the one shown in FIG. 15 referenced inexplanation of the first embodiment.

In step 1609, if it is judged that derivation is present, notification17 is issued to the collection interval modification program 1112(1610). The operation of the collection interval modification program1112 which has received the notification 17 is identical to the caseupon reception of notification 15 explained with reference to FIG. 17.

In step 1603, if the collection state of the item α2 is judged otherthan the “detail”, the collection interval table 1220 (FIG. 2) isreferenced to judge whether the collection state of α2 is “temporarystop” (1608). If the collection state is the “temporary stop”, judgementis made whether derivation is present (1612). If no derivation ispresent, notification 16 is issued to the collection interval managementprogram 1260 (1611). This is for recovering the collection interval ofthe derivative group associated with the item α2 to the initial value.The collection interval management program 1260 and the collectioninterval modification program 1112 which have received the notification16 operate as has been explained above.

In step 1608, if the collection state is judged to be other than thetemporary stop, judgment is made whether the collection state is“degeneration” (1613). If the collection state is judged to be“degeneration”, notification 17 is issued to the collection intervalmodification program 1112. The collection interval modification program1112 which has received the notification 17 operates in the same way ashas been explained above (1614). However, since the collection state iscurrently “degeneration”, the values used as the maximum value MAX andthe minimum value MIN of the variation width of the collection intervalare the values registered in the maximum value 260 and the initial value220 of FIG. 2 as has been explained above.

In this embodiment also, the computer load monitoring program is used tomonitor the items associated with the computer load. If any item valueis abnormal, the item of the detail collection state is modified to thetemporary stop while the collection interval of the item in thedegeneration state or normal state can be increased. In this case, thecomputer load monitoring program operates in the same way as has beenexplained with reference to FIG. 15 in the first embodiment. Thecollection interval management program operates in the same way as hasbeen explained with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 in the firstembodiment. The collection interval modification program operates in thesame way as has been explained with reference to FIG. 13 in the firstembodiment. However, as the Y in step 1301 of FIG. 13, it is necessaryto select a value not greater than the “maximum value” predetermined inFIG. 2 for the item whose collection item is to be increased.

As has been described above, according to the present invention, it ispossible to collect detail information on the execution state of theprogram executed on a computer while suppressing the computer load.

It should be further understood by those skilled in the art thatalthough the foregoing description has been made on embodiments of theinvention, the invention is not limited thereto and various changes andmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claims.

1. A program execution state monitoring method using a computer foracquiring a plurality of item values associated with the programexecution state at intervals linked to a plurality of itemscorresponding to the item values, and stored in a storage device, themethod comprising the steps of: comparing an item value of an item ofthe plurality of items to a condition linked to the item and stored inthe storage device; if the condition is not satisfied, decreasing aninterval of an item belonging to a group linked to the compared item andstored in the storage device; and increasing an interval of at least oneitem not belonging to said group.
 2. A program execution statemonitoring method as claimed in claim 1, the method further comprisingthe steps of: storing an initial value, first and second minimum values,and first and second maximum values of each of said intervals linked tothe plurality of items while correlating the initial value, first andsecond minimum values, and first and second maximum values withrespective items associated with the program execution state; if theinterval of one of the plurality of items for which a value is acquiredis greater than said initial value, making the interval of the one itemso as to be equal to or greater than said first minimum value and notgreater than said first maximum value linked to the one item accordingto the value acquired; and if the interval of one of the plurality ofitems for which a value is acquired is smaller than said initial value,making the interval of the one item so as to be equal to or greater thansaid second minimum value and not greater than said second maximum valuelinked to the one item according to the value acquired.
 3. A programexecution state monitoring method as claimed in claim 1, the methodfurther comprising the steps of: storing in a storage device an initialvalue, first and second minimum values, first and second maximum valuesof each of the plurality of intervals, and a reference value for thevariation ratio each of the intervals linked to respective itemsassociated with the program execution state; modifying said interval ofsaid one item to be smaller than said interval and not smaller than saidfirst minimum value related to said one item if an absolute value of avariation ratio of the value of said one item acquired is not smallerthan said reference value linked to said one item and greater than saidinitial value stored in said storage device; modifying said interval ofsaid one item to be smaller than said interval and not smaller than saidsecond minimum value related to said one item if an absolute value of avariation ratio of the value of said one item acquired is not smallerthan said reference value linked to said one item and smaller than saidinitial value stored in said storage device; modifying said interval ofsaid one item to be greater than said interval and not greater than saidfirst maximum value linked to said one item if an absolute value of avariation ratio of the value of said one item acquired is smaller thansaid reference value linked to said one item and greater than saidinitial value stored in said storage device; and modifying said intervalof said one item to be greater than said interval and not greater thansaid second maximum value related to said one item if an absolute valueof a variation ratio of the value of said one item acquired is smallerthan said reference value linked to said one item and smaller than saidinitial value stored in said storage device.
 4. A program executionstate monitoring method using a computer for acquiring a plurality ofitem values associated with the program execution state at intervalslinked to a plurality of items corresponding to the item values, andstored in a storage device, the method comprising the steps of:comparing an item value of an item of the plurality of items to acondition stored in the storage device; if the condition is notsatisfied, decreasing an interval of each item linked to the compareditem; and if the item value of an item associated with a computer loadis different from the condition stored in the storage device, decreasingan interval of at least one of the plurality of items associated withthe program execution state and having an interval not smaller than aninitial value linked to the item and stored in the storage device.
 5. Aprogram execution state monitoring method as claimed in claim 4, themethod further comprising the steps of: storing in the storage devicethe initial value, first and second minimum values, first and secondmaximum values of the intervals, and a reference value for the variationratio of each of the intervals which are linked to respective itemsassociated with the program execution state; modifying said interval ofsaid one item to be smaller than said interval and not smaller than saidfirst minimum value linked to said one item if an absolute value of avariation ratio of the value of said one item acquired is not smallerthan said reference value linked to said one item and greater than saidinitial value stored in said storage device; modifying said interval ofsaid one item to be smaller than said interval and not smaller than saidsecond minimum value linked to said one item if an absolute value of avariation ratio of the value of said one item acquired is not smallerthan said reference value linked to said one item and smaller than saidinitial value stored in said storage device; modifying said interval ofsaid one item to be greater than said interval and not greater than saidfirst maximum value linked to said one item if an absolute value of avariation ratio of the value of said one item acquired is smaller thansaid reference value linked to said one item and greater than saidinitial value stored in said storage device; and modifying said intervalof said one item to be greater than said interval and not greater thansaid second maximum value linked to said one item if an absolute valueof a variation ratio of the value of said one item acquired is smallerthan said reference value linked to said one item and smaller than saidinitial value stored in said storage device.
 6. A program executionstate monitoring method using a computer for acquiring a plurality ofitem values associated with the program execution state at intervalslinked to a plurality of items corresponding to the item values, andstored in a storage device, the method comprising the steps of:comparing an item value of an item of the plurality of items to acondition stored in the storage device; and when the condition is notsatisfied and an item value of an item associated with a computer loadsatisfies the condition and stored in the storage device, decreasing theinterval of each of the plurality of items linked to the compared item.7. A program execution state monitoring method as claimed in claim 6,wherein if the item value of the item associated with the computer loaddoes not satisfy the condition stored in the storage device, an intervalof at least one of the items associated with the program execution stateand having a value not smaller than an initial value linked to the itemand stored in the storage device is increased.
 8. A program executionstate monitoring method as claimed in claim 7, the method furthercomprising the steps of: storing in the storage device the initialvalue, first and second minimum values, first and second maximum valuesof each of the plurality of intervals, and a reference value for thevariation ratio of each of the intervals which are related to respectiveitems associated with the program execution state; modifying saidinterval of said one item to be smaller than said interval and notsmaller than said first minimum value related to said one item if anabsolute value of a variation ratio of the value of said one itemacquired is not smaller than said reference value related to said oneitem and greater than said initial value stored in said storage device;modifying said interval of said one item to be smaller than saidinterval and not smaller than said second minimum value related to saidone item if an absolute value of a variation ratio of the value of saidone item acquired is not smaller than said reference value related tosaid one item and smaller than said initial value stored in said storagedevice; modifying said interval of said one item to be greater than saidinterval and not greater than said first maximum value related to saidone item if an absolute value of a variation ratio of the value of saidone item acquired is smaller than said reference value related to saidone item and greater than said initial value stored in said storagedevice; and modifying said interval of said one item to be greater thansaid interval and not greater than said second maximum value related tosaid one item if an absolute value of a variation ratio of the value ofsaid one item acquired is smaller than said reference value related tosaid one item and smaller than said initial value stored in said storagedevice.
 9. A program execution state monitoring method using a computerfor acquiring a plurality of item values associated with the programexecution state at intervals related to a plurality of itemscorresponding to the item values and stored in a storage device, themethod comprising the steps of: comparing an item value of an item ofthe plurality of items to a condition stored in the storage device; andwhen the condition is not satisfied and the number of items related tothe compared item is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value,decreasing the interval of the respective items related to the compareditem.
 10. A program execution state monitoring method using a computerfor acquiring a plurality of item values associated with the programexecution state at intervals related to a plurality of itemscorresponding to the item values and stored in a storage device, themethod comprising the steps of: storing in the storage device a firstgroup consisting of at least one of the plurality of item values; whenone of the at least one of the plurality of item values does not satisfya condition related to a respective first item of the plurality of itemsand stored in the storage devices, and when a second group related to asecond item different from the first item and including items havingintervals smaller than an initial value set for the intervals, changingthe intervals of the respective items to the initial values; anddecreasing the interval of each of the items belonging to the grouprelated to the first item.
 11. A program execution state monitoringmethod using a plurality of computers connected in such a manner thatthey can communicate with one another for acquiring a plurality of itemvalues associated with execution states of a program executed on thecomputers at intervals related to a plurality of items corresponding tothe item values and stored, the method comprising the steps of:comparing an item value acquired for a first item of the plurality ofitems to a condition related to the first item and stored by one of theplurality of computers; if the item value does not satisfy thecondition, extracting a second item related to the first item and storedin a storage device and at least one of a plurality of items not relatedto the first item by at least one of said one of the plurality ofcomputers or another computer; modifying an interval related to theextracted second item related to the first item and stored in thestorage device to an interval smaller than the interval stored by saidone of said plurality of computers or another computer different fromsaid one of said plurality of computers; and modifying an intervalrelated to the extracted second item not related to the first item andstored in the storage device to an interval greater than the intervalstored by said one of said plurality of computers or another computerdifferent from said one of said plurality of computers.